Reserve Police Battalion In Christopher Browning's Ordinary Men

In his book, Ordinary Men, Christopher Browning describes the men of Reserve Police Battalion as “ordinary men” because he is attempting to portray them as any other man regardless of their nationality. Daniel Goldhagen, on the other hand, describes the men of the Police Battalion as “ordinary Germans” as to why they would voluntarily commit such horrendous acts of violence as a unique German mindset of the time.
Browning uses the idea that German’s think that most other nations of the world view Jews in the same way that they do, that they are a parasite on the human race that needs to be exterminated to explain why these reserve police are “ordinary men”. He also states that like any other reserve unit, reserve Police Battalion 101 was raised from men from Hamburg, who were ordinary citizens, who had ordinary jobs.(42,Browning) Browning contends that these men evolved into hardened killers over time as they overcame the psychological and the visual trauma of killing unarmed men, women, and children.
Goldhagen sees the men of reserve Police Battalion as “ordinary Germans” because after they slaughtered thousands of Jews, they returned to their barracks and continued their conventional German life style by frequenting clubs, recreation centers, canteens, sporting events,
The pressure to fit in and demonstrate your manhood would have been too great not to commit these acts. It would have taken more courage to not kill innocent people than it would be to follow orders and do as everyone else was doing. A man would not want to feel and/or be treated like a coward by people they have grown up with and lived around most of their